Historical battlefield cartography

Create custom maps for GMT Games’ GBACW Series

Use HexDraw 2 to turn historical reference material into an original battlefield map for the Great Battles of the American Civil War (GBACW) format, without reproducing a published game map.

Cloyd's Mountain battlefield map in HexDraw 2 with wooded ridges, roads, creeks, farms, slopes, and numbered hexes — Cloyd’s Mountain demonstrates how historical reference material can guide a new HexDraw battlefield map.

Historical board setup

What the blank template preconfigures

The GBACW preset supplies suitable dimensions, hex layout, numbering, terrain definitions, and elevation tools. The empty board is ready for terrain interpreted from source material you have the right to use, while all starting settings remain editable.

Suitable battlefield dimensions
Numbered historical hex layout
Terrain and elevation setup
Large-map print preparation

Historical map building

Translate sources into editable terrain

Place a permitted reference image beneath the map, then position and fade it while rebuilding elevation, routes, watercourses, woods, farms, buildings, and labels above it. Vector Paint helps create long connected features with few control points.

Reference-image underlays
Elevation levels and slopes
Roads, creeks, and rivers
Woods, farms, buildings, and labels

HexDraw 2 showing a complete custom map of the Raymond, Mississippi battlefield with woods, roads, creeks, elevation, labels, and numbered hexes — A complete original battlefield remains visible and editable as one connected map.

Return to all HexDraw map templates

HexDraw 2 is an independent product and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, or approved by the publishers or rights holders of the games and series referenced on this page. Product and series names are used solely to describe compatible map formats and possible applications.